(Opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Augusta Press.)
Since only the spouses, relatives and a few close friends of the candidates for mayor and commission watched the recent Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce forums, I felt obligated to tune in and report some of what was said. Just highlights from the mayoral forum. Otherwise, it would have been a book.
The forum began with the candidates’ opening remarks, followed by questions from a panel, and I had to pick and choose highlights or lowlights as the case may be to report. If there’s anything they said you don’t understand, don’t blame me. I didn’t understand some of it either.
Donald Bradshaw said he was a longtime Augusta resident and former engineer for General Dynamics and wanted to help build the city to make it the cyber capital of the world.
Charlie Hannah said he was a business owner and wants to be mayor because he has been chiseled and molded in public service.
A.K. Hasan talked more about the Chamber and what it does than he did about himself, promising that it would have a seat at the table if he’s elected mayor.
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Robert Ingham said he’d like to be a goodwill ambassador for Augusta.
(Wouldn’t that be impossible if nobody can understand what he’s talking about?)
Garnett Johnson said he loves the city and is invested in it and that the Lord continues to guide his path. He doesn’t have government experience but would work to grow the economy and tax base.
Lucas Johnson said he would push for a full forensic audit of every department in city government.
(I wonder if he knows how much that would actually cost. Auditors would have to find theft of at least $4 million to have it break even. And it’s not likely they’re going to get the money back. Even worse, if they put the thieves in jail, taxpayers would be paying their room and board.)
“We’re going to deliver steak houses to South Augusta.”
(Well, at least he didn’t say, “We’re going to put a chicken to every pot.”)
Steven Kendrick’s education and experience are impressive, as is his community service and being chairman of so many boards, such as the Augusta Economic Development Authority which has a good track record, with one exception. And that was the fiasco over the big-name Lake Olmstead Stadium concerts that were supposed to take place during Masters week but were canceled the week before. Now the stadium and grounds are an unkempt and unfinished eyesore.
Lori Myles, who seems like a cross between Juliet and Lady Macbeth with her theatrical flourishes and dramatic speeches, said she’d be the mayor of Augusta for all people.
“My platform – The Color Pink. The color pink stands out,” she said.
(On her campaign billboards and in every public appearance, Myles refers to her pink platform. I’m concerned she might have fallen off of it and hit her head.)
Marion Williams said, “For 16 years, I’ve been your voice. I haven’t hid. I haven’t done anything that wasn’t on the table.”
(Except have my son-in-law buy land across from the drag strip I was promoting.)
“I’m about doing what’s right,” Williams continued.
(The question is, “What’s right for whom? He was instrumental in running off at least three competent city administrators – Randy Oliver, George Kolb and Fred Russell.)
Question: Should the city charter be changed?
“I couldn’t advocate for change at this time,” Hannah said.
“I do not advocate for any changes in the charter,” said Hasan. “In the old city council, the mayor had the power to usurp the council’s power, and he raided the pension funds and waterworks. The mayor today is not weak because he is the chief executive officer of the city. The position is clearly misunderstood.”
Ingham responded by saying, “McIntyre – we know there were no Blacks in the Phillipines when they decided to run over it.”
Garnett Johnson said, “I would not be in favor of any change without involvement of the citizens and voters of Richmond County.”
(That’s different. He supports democracy and doesn’t aspire to be king.)
Lucas Johnson is of like mind.
“I do not support the power of the mayor being changed,” Johnson said. “I want people to have input.”
Kendrick said, “The question of changing the charter is not something we need to do. … The mayor and commission is heavily out of balance. The mayor has limited authority. What I would ask for is to ask the commission to work with the mayor.”
(It might be better to ask the mayor to work with the commission. They’ve got him outnumbered, and they can actually vote on stuff.)
What’s in a name? That which we call bankrupt by any other name would smell as sweet as consolidation
“Yes, we do need to look at the charter again,” said Myles. “It’s been 21 years. In 1995, the city of Augusta was going bankrupt. The Department of Justice stepped in and said, ‘This is against the law for the city to go bankrupt.’”
(Hmmm. I seem to remember the U.S. Justice Department stepped in to ensure that consolidation didn’t dilute the Black vote, not because the city was bankrupt.)
“No,” to revisiting the charter, said Marion Williams. “When you start making changes, you need to know what it’s going to end up looking like.”
(I wonder if he felt that way when he ran off all of those administrators.)
“If I was hungry for power and wanted to be king of Augusta, I might want to change it,” said Bradshaw.
(He’s been watching too many of King Hardie’s press conferences.)
Question: What do you consider to be the primary responsibility of the mayor’s office?
“The mayor is the chief executive officer,” said Hasan. “He is not weak by any means. The mayor has the bully pulpit. The mayor is the primary leader.”
“We look to the mayor to be the consensus leader,” said Garnett Johnson. “The mayor plays a vital role in growth.”
“The mayor should be the voice of reason, and the leader of goodwill and PR,” said Lucas Johnson.
“I believe the main role is to be the chief economic development leader,” said Kendrick. “Chief salesman, the face of the city, collaborator among the commissioners. I’ve led many boards. I’ve chaired many boards. The same thing that happens with that commission.”
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Bradshaw said, “I think the mayor needs to listen to you. He needs to lead. He needs to be a team player.”
“The mayor should be an excellent representative of the government on the world stage,” said Hannah.
(Does that mean if he’s elected he’s going to travel around like King Hardie?)
Question: What are your ideas about how to develop a budget and assure people of accountability?
“Are you talking about the Covid?” Ingham asked.
“No. Just the budget. The city budget,” the questioner answered.
“We are basically a capitalist country that makes promises in order to be able to put previous models of equipment and make them obsolete and bring new equipment on, and it works very well for us,” said Ingham. “We are an experiment to Washington’s farewell address. The budget should be very critically looked at, audited and accounted for. Accountability is the most protection for allowing for a more fair, more able government.”
Say what?
“As mayor, the first thing I would call for is an efficiency and operating review for every city department in our entire government,” said Garnett Johnson.
(You can call all you want, but I don’t think anybody will answer. That’s another multi-million-dollar boondoggle.)
Lucas Johnson said that before he decided to run for mayor, he combed through the budget and noticed the city was paying out so much money in settlements and severance, it is no wonder the city has a billion-dollar budget.
Kendrick said the city should build its budget beginning with direct-line managers and directors and train them how to build those department budgets.
“There are many department heads, those things aren’t taught to them,” he said. “Not only do I teach that. I’ve done it.”
Myles said, “In the case of the fiscal budget, one thing we have to remember is if it’s not broke, let’s not try to fix it. There’s no way the mayor of Augusta has time to set up a budget.”
“Know what you spend,” said Bradshaw. “It’s pretty rudimentary and straightforward. It’s no different than the rest of us. If we spend more than we earn, we end up with deficits and serious trouble.”
Charlie’s finest hour
The most interesting thing that happened during the forum was when Hannah defended the Richmond County school system after Lucas Johnson turned to him while making a point on something else and said, “Charlie, I know you’re president of the school board, but the school system sucks.”
When it came around for Hannah to answer a question after another candidate had been talking about cleaning up the trash in Augusta, Hannah said, “We do have a lot of trash in our political environment. A lot of trash talking. Very little walking. A lot of people interested in self-preservation instead of moving Augusta forward.
“So, I’m a little off track because if you’re a graduate of Richmond County schools, you got to be what you say the school system is because you’re a product of that. You’ve got to be mindful of that.”
Then he defended and praised the schools and their successes.
“People say,” he said. “What do they say? We have a horrible school system. Well, we have some of the leading educational facilities in the country. We have three that are nationally ranked. We have four that are ranked high on the state level. We have nationally recognized trade technicians.
Manufacturers come to Augusta-Richmond County because they need what we have – trade technicians.
“We are a manufacturing school system. I say, we are a manufacturing school system. So, let’s respect where we’re at. We produce the workforce for the CSRA. SRS comes to us because they need what we can provide. We got paint manufacturers out of Atlanta, they come to us and say, ‘What can your students do for us?”
“Let’s keep it real”
“You want to talk about the school system,” he said. “Let’s talk about the positive aspect. We produce the workforce. We provide the abilities for young folks to live, to raise their families and for other folks to come here. I was essential in the Marion Barnes Trade Center. Why? Because manufacturers were coming to us in 2015-2016, saying, ‘We need more trade technicians.’ We answered that.
“Textron came to us. We need trade technicians to help us build our golf cars. Of course, we answered that. What was it we built? The RPM.”
Hannah said he didn’t answer the question about the American Rescue Plan money the city received.
“I apologize because I have to defend our school system because our school system is all of us,” he said to the loudest applause and shouts of the night.
Sylvia Cooper is a columnist with The Augusta Press. Reach her at sylvia.cooper@theaugustapress.com
